Hitting Reset with a Weekend in the Woods
It's been a long and frustrating season. The length is simply a function of a NYC race calendar that starts on frigid March mornings and carries on through the heat of August, piling together enough race weekends and road trips to generate a sense of fatigue for even the most hearty racers with an active calendar.
This contrasts with the frustration that has more to do with a stretch of ill health that wiped out much of my summer race calendar. One of these days I'll sit down and attempt to recap the how and the why of the past few months but with cyclocross season looming and my fitness at a low point, Labor Day weekend was an opportune moment to hit a mental and physical reset button on my favorite terrain: singletrack.
Despite some overcast weather to start the weekend we ultimately enjoyed plenty of those 'perfect light' moments on the trails.
With a plethora of beaches to choose from a bit of sand practice was never more than a few miles away.
A bit of a #DirtSearch between two stretches of singletrack trail.
The terrain and flora varies on the trails but the pine barren sections are some of our favorite - fast, swoopy and smooth.
It is currently covered by a thick layer of dust and mud but the paint job on our team Garneau Steeple-CX bikes continues to impress.
I'll be honest, racing cyclocross is mostly an excuse to ride trails on non-race weekends and then drink beer on race weekends.
Despite a busy holiday weekend out East the trails were surprisingly empty.
Catching that great late afternoon light on our race to get home before sunset on Sunday night.
Monday was finally blue skies and sunshine. Perfect trail riding weather.
Soon to be a multi-million dollar mansion in the woods overlooking the trails - but for now the front yard was a perfect (and very loose) sand pit.
Dodging nails and getting in some sand practice at that same construction site.
The Garneau Steeple-CX at the end of the weekend, covered with a layer of dirt and dust.
Most of our rest stops are structured around the opportunity to do a bit of trail maintenance, particularly blocking the bandit lines along the trail that dirt motorbikes establish.
The mood at the end of the weekend.
Till next time...
A New York City based cyclist and sometimes photographer. Part adventure rider, part crit racer, and fully obsessed with an English bulldog named Winifred.
Instagram: @photorhetoric
E-mail: matthew@tobedetermined.cc
The team takes in a weekend of trails, cyclocross preparation, and beach lounging